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Thursday, March 15, 2012

Interview Questions - Answers for Marketers

1. Tell me about yourself.

This does not mean tell me everything. It means tell me in a few sentences why you’re the most suitable candidate for the job. Talk about your relevant education, experience, key results and achievements. Remember to tailor your answer to the specific job using an example or two to back up your answer. If this was your one chance in the interview to sell yourself and tell the interviewer what you can do for them, what would you say?

2. Why do you want to work for us?

Here’s where your research about the company will help you to stand out from the other candidates. Explain how you’ve always wanted the opportunity to work with a company that, for example, is a leader in innovative products. The best source for research is the company’s website. Read through their annual reports, look at their products and services and try to gain an understanding of the structure of the company (size and number of employees) and the market it’s in. Also research the company’s competitors and other organisations operating in the same field.

3. Can you give me an example of a marketing campaign that did not work out as you had planned?

It is important that you are able to recognise why a plan went wrong and to learn from the experience. Campaigns often fail due to poor research and groundwork, poor planning and follow through of objectives and goals or ineffective communication. Be open about why the campaign failed, take accountability and focus on what you learnt.

4. Tell me about a marketing project that you brought in on time and under budget.

Focus on your planning and organising skills to get the best return on the marketing budget. Detail what controls were put in place to track and stay on top of expenditure and how plans were adjusted when necessary. Discuss your ability to react quickly and accurately to meet new demands and constraints.

5. Describe a situation in which an innovative course of action was necessary?

Talk about how you gained a clear perspective before deciding on the focus of your innovation. How you took into consideration the available resources to determine the best course of action. Explain the action taken and why it was innovative.

6. Give me an example when you’ve convinced someone to do something they didn’t want to do.

Consider a situation when you convinced someone to do something which they initially had severe doubts about. Talk about the methods you have used to convince someone as well as how persistent you needed to be. Show that you enjoy influencing other people as well as being good at it.

7. Which of our products/services most appeals to you and why?

For any marketing interview you must familiarise yourself with what the company does and it’s successful products/services. This will allow you to identify its appeal and then describe how the marketing strategy has worked. An example might be Walker’s crisps tasting nice and through the good marketing strategy are now also perceived as good fun which is obviously important when one of their biggest markets is children.

8. Tell me about a brand that you think is an example of good marketing.

Identify one of your favourite brands and it’s positioning and target. In other words, who is the brand trying to reach and what are they trying to tell them. Discuss how the brand uses the marketing variables to support its positioning using the 4 P’s (product, price, place and promotion) and give examples about how your brand delivers against each.

9. Analyse this advert and pretend that you are the client looking at it for the first time. What do you think?

Look closely because the advert won’t be perfect. Begin by defining that a great advert makes people want to run out and buy the product. Great adverts might not win awards but they sell products. The most effective adverts tend to have a unique, relevant product benefit, a strong link between the brand and the benefit and are engaging through use of words and colour.

10. If you were a brand, which brand would you be and why?

Here is your chance to market yourself. You know what the interviewer is looking for as you will have done your homework so now is the time to pull out an example that shows you have it. This is also your opportunity to differentiate yourself from other candidates.